When addressing energy issues, many speakers raised the need for a stand-alone goal on sustainable energy, a topic neglected in the MDGs. Secretary-General’s Sustainable Energy for All Initiative was noted by many as a good starting point with its three-tiered approach on access, efficiency and renewables, and additional targets were proposed for example for the energy-water-food-health nexus, women and sustainable energy and enabling environmen, since energy can either aggravate or alleviate many problems.

Speakers noted the several interlinkages between climate change and energy issues and mentioned that without solutions to climate change there can be no irreversible poverty eradication. The post-2015 agenda and the UNFCCC discussions should be mutually reinforcing. When rebuilding after natural disasters it is important to rebuild not only resilient but also climate-smart infrastructure to support mitigation efforts.

The just transition needed towards sustainable energy was remarked by many. It will be of utmost importance to ensure that “miners can turn into renewable energy engineers”, that the current workers will be provided with the new skills needed to minimize social costs of the transformation towards sustainable energy production.

When addressing access issues many noted that participatory processes are required to assess what kind of services the end-users truly find most useful. Providing access and increasing the amount of renewable energy should be seen as issues supporting each other; small scale, decentralized off-grid and mini grid options of renewable energy were raised as solutions for sustainable rural energy production and access.

Several speakers highlighted that women pay the price of traditional, biomass-based energy systems, since they often collect and carry the fuel and suffer the health consequences of cooking smoke and small-particle pollution and often also hazardous combustion by-products. At the same time though it was remarked that sustainable development should not in this regard be only about cleaner cook stoves for women but about true gender equality and shared responsibilities and household chores.

As a registered (online registered, through this website) major groups organization, you may contribute to the work of Steering Committees of the Thematic Clusters by uploading articles, background or position papers that relates to the Thematic Cluster and towards formulation of a Sustainable Development Goal of that particular cluster. See full list of Thematic Clusters here.

The OWG has begun to engage in detailed consideration of individual goals and targets. At this important moment however CIDSE believes a number of over-arching issues must be taken into account if thi...

The OWG has begun to engage in detailed consideration of individual goals and targets. At this important moment however CIDSE believes a number of over-arching issues must be taken into account if this work, and the outcome framework, are to deliver and respond to the considerable task it has been entrusted with. This document sets out a number of recommendations to the OWG, including on climate change and energy.

In today’s world the challenge of sustainable mining is more than critical.
In accordance with the "RIO+20: The Future We Want" document, paragraphs 227 and 228:
“227. We acknowledge that minerals and metals make a major contribution to the world economy and modern societies. We note that mining industries are important to all countries with mineral resources, in particular developing countries. We also note that mining offers the opportunity to catalyze broad-based economic development, reduce poverty and assist countries in meeting internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, when managed effectively and properly (...) We further acknowledge that mining activities should maximize social and economic benefits, as well as effectively address negative environmental and social impacts....
228. We recognize the importance of strong and effective legal and regulatory frameworks, policies and practices for the mining sector that deliver economic and social benefits and include effective safeguards that reduce social and environmental impacts, as well as conserve biodiversity and ecosystems, including during post-mining closure...”

Utilizing the good paradigm of Acropolis of Athens, which was built utilizing the wealth/revenues that was produced by a mining project I propose the establishment of “Global Best Practice Sustainable Development Heritage List and/or Award”.

If We really Want a Future full of New Acropoles then we need to act and offer good paradigms to all stakeholders.

Nearly every fifth person does not have access to modern energy services. Three billion people depend on wood, coal, charcoal, or traditional biomass for their cooking and heating needs. This lack of ...

Nearly every fifth person does not have access to modern energy services. Three billion people depend on wood, coal, charcoal, or traditional biomass for their cooking and heating needs. This lack of access to modern energy has grave consequences for development as it threatens human health, promotes gender inequality and social injustice, and contributes to land and forest degradation as well as climate change.
We call for
 By 2030, universal access to energy, a 14% reduction of energy consumption in buildings and industry, a doubling of worldwide energy efficiency and the portion of renewable energies in the global mix, and support for the UN Secretary General’s Sustainable Energy for All Initiative . As a prerequisite, renewable energy projects with negative effects on the ecological and social conditions regionally or globally should not be supported. This includes large hydropower plants, dams, and large-scale biofuels.

 By 2020, 100 million households are supplied with clean cooking energy, for example through support of the “Alliance for Clean Cookstoves”.

Save the Children promotes a holistic post-2015 development agenda that has poverty eradication at its core and is guided by universal, equitable and human rights-based approaches to sustainable devel...

Save the Children promotes a holistic post-2015 development agenda that has poverty eradication at its core and is guided by universal, equitable and human rights-based approaches to sustainable development. This briefing provides an overview of Save the Children’s proposals for standalone goals in three critical, interconnected areas that we consider are relevant to the themes of sustained and inclusive economic growth, infrastructure development and industrialization.
1. Poverty eradication through inclusive growth;
2. Environmental sustainability; and
3. Sustainable energy for all.

Humanity is now facing intertwined crises, such as emerging resource use or increasing inequalities, which are driven by the reliance on fossil fuels to power economic growth and to maintain the curre...

Humanity is now facing intertwined crises, such as emerging resource use or increasing inequalities, which are driven by the reliance on fossil fuels to power economic growth and to maintain the current unsustainable consumption a production patters; fundamental changes in international policy responses are urgently needed. We need to ensure that all human being fits in the environmental space capped by overconsumption and underlined by the level of dignity. Therefore, energy use limitation should be put in place worldwide in line with the proposals of the Tough contraction and convergence scenario proposed by the UN International Resource Panel, which would lead to an economic transformation from fossil fuel-based system to a sustainable model. Therefore, CEEweb urges the Steering Committee, Members and Contributors of the 7th Meeting of the Open Working Group to consider in the SCP related debates energy use limitation and the proposed Non-renewable energy entitlement scheme as the starting point for how the necessary absolute reduction can be achieved globally.

In this position paper, we the 'Future We Need' Group understand Energy as an enabler of development and so, as well as possibly being a SDG itself, energy should be embedded in the other SDGs to mini...

In this position paper, we the 'Future We Need' Group understand Energy as an enabler of development and so, as well as possibly being a SDG itself, energy should be embedded in the other SDGs to minimise the silo approach. Energy production and distribution needs to be pursued in a way that promotes community cohesion leading to a more just and lasting peace and prosperity for all. In light of the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere, a future energy strategy must pursue the necessary steps to make a permanent shift from a fossil-fuel energy dependency to low carbon energy sources, technology, and production. Energy targets need to be set from the outset since the energy sector is characterised by long investment cycles. This will ensure effective use of time and keep momentum high.

In order to inform the deliberations of the Fifth Session of the UN General Assembly Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Stakeholder Forum has conducted an analysis of th...

In order to inform the deliberations of the Fifth Session of the UN General Assembly Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Stakeholder Forum has conducted an analysis of the proposals currently housed within the SDGs e-Inventory which relate to the thematic areas of the meeting, including energy.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for SDGs and to demonstrate its application by elaborating specific target areas for energy. Based on a review and integration of global debates aro...

The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for SDGs and to demonstrate its application by elaborating specific target areas for energy. Based on a review and integration of global debates around SDG and energy, the framework puts human wellbeing at the center of the agenda, with the supporting resource base and global public goods forming additional tiers. A complementary set of enabling goals is suggested with four layers: capacity & knowledge, governance & institutions, public policy, and investment & finance. An energy SDG is elaborated to illustrate the application of the framework. The illustrative SDG architecture for energy includes eight target areas: basic energy access, energy for economic development, sufficiency, renewable supply, efficiency, infrastructure, greenhouse gas emissions and security. These target areas are relevant for energy for all countries, but depending on national circumstances such as levels of development, the relative emphasis will be different between countries, and over time.

Needed are goals which lead to energy policies and strategies that:
• are based on the principle of energy sovereignty;
• rely on decentralised and democratically controlled energy generation and use;
• result in more equitable access to energy which means meeting everybody’s fundamental energy needs while reducing excessive energy consumption at the same time;
• protect the climate, ecosystems, and communities', including women's livelihoods and rights.
Fossil fuels, nuclear, industrial wood-based bioenergy and biofuels as well as large hydro dams must not be subsidised, whether directly or indirectly. Decentralized, democratically controlled and genuinely renewable energy generation can greatly benefit women by increasing access to energy for those whose fundamental energy needs are not currently being met, by eliminating harmful types of energy generation, and by creating income generating opportunities for women, especially in developing countries.

The recommendations on energy presented here have been compiled from three civil society consultations conducted by UN-NGLS from 2012-2013: a teleconference-based consultation that resulted in the rep...

The recommendations on energy presented here have been compiled from three civil society consultations conducted by UN-NGLS from 2012-2013: a teleconference-based consultation that resulted in the report Advancing Regional Recommendations on the Post-2015 Agenda; an online consultation on four post-2015 reports to the Secretary-General; and a teleconference and meeting-based consultation on the UN Secretary-General’s Sustainable Energy for All Initiative. This brief also draws on the Women’s Major Group energy recommendations for the OWG on SDGs.

Due to the fact that humanity is now facing intertwined crises, which are driven by the reliance on fossil fuels to power economic growth, fundamental changes in international policy responses are urg...

Due to the fact that humanity is now facing intertwined crises, which are driven by the reliance on fossil fuels to power economic growth, fundamental changes in international policy responses are urgently needed. Therefore, while ensuring access to sufficient energy in the “Global South”, energy use limitation should be put in place worldwide in line with the proposals of the Tough contraction and convergence scenario proposed by the UN International Resource Panel, which would lead to an economic transformation from fossil fuel-based system to a sustainable model.
Therefore, CEEweb urge the Steering Committee, Members and Contributors of the Open Working Group to consider energy use limitation within the Energy SDG and use the proposed Non-renewable energy entitlement scheme as the starting point for how the needed absolute reduction can be achieved globally with the view to implement.
The detailed version on the Non-renewable energy entitlement scheme and how it can be implemented at EU level can be downloaded at: http://www.ceeweb.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/non_renewable_energy_entitlement_RCC.pdf.

There are two possibilities. Either there's a hidden source of energy use that our SD proposals are a)not responsible for, or one they b) are responsible for. It's hard to chase down puzzling discrepancies like this, but this one had an answer, published in Sustainability in 2011. What's up?? Our math and the world's seem to disagree!
Could some projects be outsourcing energy services and not knowing it??

The real problem I found with our metrics is they rely on just counting **traceable energy use**! It happens naturally if our sustainability metrics were designed with no way to estimate the quantity of untraceable energy uses left uncounted. That’s what’s needed to close the global accounting, and that's what the method in SEA does, solving the problem.

Who am I?? I guess you'd say I'm "Sherlock Holmes" for the serious sleuthing it took to find and propose how to fix the problem. Being a great sleuth doesn't make me a great enough saleswomen, though, to persuade people to study why their numbers are much too optimistic. The clear evidence is that our overly optimistic numbers are **showing us the wrong path to sustainability** though.

So... SD may have long lists of wonderful things about it, but it doesn’t use less energy, really. Just like growing GDP, growing SD => growing energy demand, and in a constrained market… raising the price higher and higher. So, without limiting energy demand (and development) for someone…, the price of energy just goes up and up and cuts out the poor. One way or another it's not "energy for all".

This policy brief is based on a Chronic Poverty Advisory Network Policy Guide: Energy for All: Harnessing the Power of Energy Access for Chronic Poverty Reduction. It identifies key areas and new emph...

This policy brief is based on a Chronic Poverty Advisory Network Policy Guide: Energy for All: Harnessing the Power of Energy Access for Chronic Poverty Reduction. It identifies key areas and new emphases for energy policy and programme development to eradicate poverty and hunger and presents new research results on energy and poverty dynamics.

This policy guide identifies key areas and new emphases for energy policy and programme development to eradicate poverty and hunger and presents new research results on energy and poverty dynamics. On...

This policy guide identifies key areas and new emphases for energy policy and programme development to eradicate poverty and hunger and presents new research results on energy and poverty dynamics. One message from the guide is that co-ordination and inter-sectoral collaboration is required to ensure that the expansion of energy services contributes to poverty reduction.

Coal is an essential resource for meeting the challenges facing the modern world. It plays a major role in delivering electricity across the globe, is fundamental in the creation of steel and concrete...

Coal is an essential resource for meeting the challenges facing the modern world. It plays a major role in delivering electricity across the globe, is fundamental in the creation of steel and concrete, and provides energy for transport.
The World Coal Association has published Coal - Energy for Sustainable Development, which highlights the vital role coal has in delivering energy to the 1.3 billion people who lack access to it as well as coal's role in building sustainable communities.

The post-2015 agenda should reflect the importance of water, energy and land and their interrelatedness, the resource nexus. Goals of a new development agenda have to mirror the different dimensions o...

The post-2015 agenda should reflect the importance of water, energy and land and their interrelatedness, the resource nexus. Goals of a new development agenda have to mirror the different dimensions of sustainable development, accomplish coherence across the goals and be universal in nature.